Presumption of innocence, right to jury are basic values

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Portage County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Dan Kontos used the official department Facebook page last weekend to issue what he called a personal "rant." It's not the first time - we even republished one of Kontos' rants last year, a humorous, dyspeptic response to critics of the Sheriff's Department for owning an armored vehicle.

The latest centered on a drunken driving case, and we are sympathetic to Kontos' frustration with Wisconsin's chronic problem of drinkers getting behind the wheel. We share his belief that all motorists should be responsible for their behavior and arrange before the first drink for alternative means of transportation, and we support any effort to help folks recognize that a few drinks can leave loved ones dead.

But Kontos crossed the line by declaring that a defendant found innocent on a third-offense drunken driving charge really was guilty. His words - "Not too long ago I watched in court as a 3rd time OWI driver got off scot-free from her crime. ? After her public defender (that's right, YOU paid for her defense) slimed the witnesses, twisted the truth, and pettifogged the details of that night, the jury bought it." - demonstrate a disregard for the criminal justice system he serves.

A jury listened to all the evidence and argument in the trial. Those men and women found the defendant innocent. Maybe they got it wrong; juries do sometimes get things wrong. But that is the system we have, and even someone with previous convictions is entitled to a presumption of innocence. That is a basic value of the justice system.

Kontos said he wanted to shame the defendant, but he really shamed himself and his own department. If Kontos wants to denounce an outcome of the criminal justice system, he has that right. But he shouldn't use a government platform to do it.

Snow and sleet and our never-ending winter

Dear Winter,

We get the idea. It's enough already.

Sincerely,

The Stevens Point Journal Media Editorial Board

Sure, the blizzard forecast for Thursday, with snowfalls of 12 or 14 inches, did not really materialize for Stevens Point. We still got enough gross sleet and ice and snow overnight to make the roads a greasy mess on Friday, and to weigh upon the general mood of the average citizen, who is getting fairly sick of all this.

Another result of the heaps of snow we've had is that snow banks on the side of the street and the end of driveways have gotten so high that in some cases they are a real safety hazard. Take care out there, drivers, to look carefully for the cars coming around that snow-piled intersection.

And remember, this can't last forever. Spring weather will surely arrive some time in the next, oh, 10 weeks or so?

Google cash boosts Renaissance Learning

The $40 million cash injection into Wisconsin Rapids educational technology firm Renaissance Learning Inc. announced this week will put that company, already an employer of 600 people in central Wisconsin and 900 nationwide, on an even steeper growth trajectory. And it doesn't hurt that the investor, now a minority owner, was the venture capital arm of an obscure Internet company named Google.

The investment is obviously a vote of confidence in Renaissance, the 29-year-old firm that has been agile enough to remain on the cutting edge of educational technology, a growing field that seems poised to explode.

Being plugged into one of the largest, most successful companies in the world - one that has taken a recent interest in the educational market - will have clear benefits to Renaissance. And it's a major development for the local and regional economy, too, and one that is likely to have ripple effects well beyond Renaissance's walls.